The use of hose and/or metal tubes has been well known for many years, for making fluid flow connections in machines such as truck and automobile engines. Some systems include flexible hose made of synthetic rubber or plastic and fittings or couplings at the ends of the hose for making connections to other machine parts. In other systems, metal tubes have been used in place of the hose, and tubes have the advantage that they can be passed close to very hot machine parts. In truck and automobile engines, the flow mediums in such systems have been engine oil, transmission oil and fuel, for example.
Both types of systems, as used in the prior art on internal combustion engines, have disadvantages. Systems including flexible hose are relatively expensive because of the number of machined fittings or couplings that have been required at the ends of the hose. Further, hose should not be passed close to very hot engine parts. Systems including metal tubes have also been relatively expensive because they have included metal couplings that have been brazed to the tubes, which is an expensive operation.
Quick connect fittings or couplings have also been used in such systems. Couplings of this type are shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,479,068, 3,540,760 and 3,584,902. Such arrangements as used in the prior art have had the disadvantages of being excessively expensive and/or not being easily and quickly assembled, particularly in locations where the connection must be made on a moving assembly line and the worker cannot easily view the parts during assembly. In other words, where "blind connections" must be performed, it is important that such connections be readily made.
It is a general object of this invention to provide an improved construction which avoids the foregoing disadvantages.